Create the Life You Were Made For

I'm thrilled and honored to share this guest positivity tip from the wise and wonderful Jason Kotecki. Be sure to check out the full message here.

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Once upon a time, there was a couple. They had three kids and a good life. He made his living as an accountant, and she was a doctor, but their real dream was to live on a ranch and breed dogs.

One day, my wife Kim suggested they do that. 

The woman laughed. "It's not possible," she said.

And so they didn't.

The end.

This is a true story, and similar stories, just like it, are lived out every day.

Of course, the woman was wrong about it not being possible. Oh, she gave a list of reasons, but none of them made the option impossible. Risky, perhaps, or unconventional, or difficult, or impractical, or scary, or all of the above.

But certainly not impossible.

I feel sad for them. Are they settling for comfort? Worried about what other people would think? Afraid of the unknown? Only they know for sure, but they appear resigned to turn down a chance at the literal life of their dreams.

Of course, the choice is theirs.

Unfortunately, the regret they may someday experience will also be theirs.

It's a shame how willingly we surrender the direction and, ultimately, the outcome of our lives to other people and to rules that don't exist.

When making decisions, we can be swayed by fear, guilt, practicality, common sense, or simply the force of habit. And those forces can make it seem like we have no say in the matter. But we always do.

As C.S. Lewis wrote, "The doors of hell are locked on the inside."

Maybe the path your heart is urging you toward makes no practical sense.

Maybe it will disappoint someone you care about.

Maybe the chances of success are somewhere between slim and nil.

It might not work. But...what if it does? And what do you lose by not even trying?

"A ship in harbor is safe, but that is not what ships are built for." 

—John A. Shedd

Jason Kotecki is a fabulous speaker and artist. He and his wife Kim founded Escape Adulthood - a company and lifestyle brand that helps people rediscover the secrets of childhood in order to build better lives, businesses, and teams.

To browse past positivity tips, visit this page.

Tina Hallis, Ph.D., is a professional speaker and founder of The Positive Edge, a company dedicated to helping individuals and organizations increase their positivity to improve the quality of people’s work lives and the quality of company cultures.